LPO awarded $750,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to expand its reach

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra $750,000 to collaborate with the Louisiana State University College of Music and Dramatic Arts, the LPO announced today. The first project of the 30-month collaboration will be a live webcast of "Becoming American: A Musical Journey" on Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. from St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square in New Orleans. The webcast will be available at LPO's website.

John McCusker / The Times-PicayuneCarlos Miguel Prieto, who serves as music director and principal conductor of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, will conduct the orchestra during its first live webcast on Jan. 25.

The concert is meant to complement the HNOC's exhibit, "The 18th Star: Treasures from 200 Years of Louisiana Statehood" and the 17th annual Williams Research Center Symposium, "Louisiana at 200: In the National Eye," according to the HNOC. The concert will "trace the evolution of regional musical tastes from the early 19th century to the modern age. An affinity for European masters, including familiar names like Beethoven and Bellini, melded with Caribbean and African influences over time to introduce a brand-new style: jazz," according to the HNOC.

Other live webcasts of LPO performances are planned throughout the next two years. The goal of the collaboration is to expand the reach of the LPO and take advantage of 21st century technology. It will support student internships in New Orleans and Baton
Rouge, according to a press release.

"Support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will significantly impact our ability to attain the LPO's current vision to be recognized as a premier American performing arts organization, reflecting New Orleans and Louisiana with pride, by 2016," LPO managing director Babs Mollere said in a press release.

“A relationship between Louisiana’s largest professional orchestra and the state’s flagship educational institution holds promise on many levels,” LSU Chancellor Michael Martin said in the press release. “By taking advantage of the technical and creative capacities of LSU, the LPO has the opportunity to envision itself as a performing arts organization on the vanguard of cultivating new audiences.”

According to LSU School of Music and Dramatic Arts Dean Laurence Kaptain, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation recognizes the value in investing in Louisiana’s flagship cultural institutions. “Through this infusion of cultural venture capital we will go beyond mere outreach—and into the exciting realm of interacting with Louisiana audiences.”